1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a liquid container for an ink jet apparatus containing therein liquid to be supplied to the recording element of the ink jet apparatus and providing a negative pressure source to the recording element, and particularly to a liquid container for an ink jet apparatus containing a single kind of liquid therein and having a plurality of liquid supply portions disposed therein to introduce the liquid.
2. Related Background Art
The construction of an example of a liquid container for an ink jet apparatus containing therein liquid to be supplied to the recording element (recording head) of the ink jet apparatus and providing a negative pressure source to the recording head is schematically shown in FIGS. 7A, 7B and 7C of the accompanying drawings. FIG. 7A is a partly broken-away side view of the liquid container, FIG. 7B is a bottom view thereof, and FIG. 7C is a front view thereof.
As shown in FIG. 7A, the liquid container 1 is provided with a liquid containing portion 20 and a supply port as a liquid supplying portion provided in a portion of the liquid containing portion 20 for supplying the contained liquid to the recording head of the ink jet apparatus. A liquid holding member 3 for holding the liquid to be supplied to the recording head is contained in the liquid containing portion 20.
The liquid container 1 shown thus has adopted a construction in which a single kind of liquid, e.g. black ink, is held in the liquid holding member 3 and a liquid supplying port 2 is provided for a recording head (e.g. a recording head for black ink) provided in an ink jet apparatus, whereby liquid is supplied at one by one.
There is also an example of the liquid container 1 in which a plurality of liquid containing portions 20 containing therein a plurality of liquids (e.g. cyan ink, magenta ink and yellow ink) are constructed integrally with one another, and again in such construction, only a single liquid supplying port 2 has been disposed for a liquid containing portion 20 containing a single kind of liquid therein.
In the conventional ink jet apparatus, recording has been effected with a single liquid (ink) discharged from a single recording head, but there is conceived a form in which use is made of a plurality of recording heads for discharging a single kind of ink with a view to improve the recording speed and improve the printing density by superposition.
In this case, a liquid container is prepared for each recording head, but the disposition space for the liquid containers need be wide, thus resulting in the bulkiness of the apparatus. Also, to prevent any irregularity from occurring to recorded prints, it is preferable to make the discharge condition uniform for a plurality of recording heads discharging a single kind of ink and it is preferable to exactly adjust the conditions of a plurality of liquid containers supplying the ink to one another, but it is difficult to prepare liquid containers uniform in condition. Further, it is conceivable to cope with the condition by making the ink path leading from the liquid container to the recording head branch off in the course thereof, but according to this, the ink path is liable to become complicated and it is difficult to cope with the condition easily.